Chapter 284 : The Runaway Tailed Beast, The Calm Riku

In the past, Gaara's kind of berserk transformation only occurred outside the village.

But Kakashi had just witnessed a bolt of lightning strike down from above—and he realized with a jolt that it had been released by Riku.

The sheer precision and power of that Lightning Style technique left Kakashi shocked.

"It seems Riku's Lightning Style has reached an extremely advanced level. To hit a moving target at such a distance, relying solely on perception… This guy isn't slow at all."

He turned to Yamato. At this point, the only people in the village capable of dealing with a Jinchūriki were Riku and Yamato.

Yamato frowned. "Riku gave me a sealing tag last time, but I already used it when Naruto went berserk. I don't have another."

"Without the help of a sealing talisman," Yamato added, "even with Wood Style, it'll be difficult to suppress Sora."

Kakashi's brow furrowed as he stared at Sora.

"So this guy actually has Nine Tails' chakra sealed inside him…"

Yamato gave a wry smile. "We've known about that for a while, but we didn't expect he'd actually be able to enter Tailed Beast Mode."

Kakashi had been recovering from injuries and wasn't fully up-to-date on recent developments.

He turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, how much power from the Nine Tails can you currently access?"

Kakashi intended to have Naruto suppress Sora's rampage before it escalated further.

Naruto thought for a moment. "I can go up to the Eight-Tails state."

Kakashi nodded and looked to Yamato.

"You and Yamato restrain him. I'll handle the sealing."

Naruto glanced uncertainly at the berserk Sora.

"Kakashi-sensei… Can you really suppress him?"

He wasn't confident. He knew how terrifying a rampaging tailed beast could be.

But Kakashi remained calm.

"It's the only option we have right now."

He called out, issuing orders with sharp precision:

"Shikamaru, Ino, Chōji—you three provide support. Sakura, protect them."

"Neji, Lee, Tenten—keep him from attacking Konoha directly."

Everyone nodded in unison.

Just as they were preparing to execute the sealing plan on Sora, three of Kazuma's subordinates suddenly appeared at the village gate.

Without a word, they began weaving hand signs rapidly.

Their summoning required time—too long to be left unguarded—so the two accompanying them fended off Konoha's shinobi to buy time.

All three were stronger than the average Jōnin—their combat capabilities were formidable.

"Earth Style: Soil of the Dead!"

After holding off Konoha's shinobi for nearly a minute, the summoning was finally complete. One of the enemies slammed his hands to the ground.

Boom!

Suddenly, massive archways erupted from the ground around Konoha's outer wall.

From those archways, earth surged outward—and from that earth, the long-buried dead began to rise.

They moved wordlessly, lifelessly… marching straight toward Konoha.

Seeing this, Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"Neji, Lee, Tenten, Ino, Chōji, Shikamaru—go hold the gate! Sakura, Naruto, you're with me!"

Without hesitation, he leapt down from the wall.

Yamato and Naruto rushed after him, with Sakura close behind.

Meanwhile, inside the Hokage's office, Riku stood calmly by the window.

Tsunade was busily organizing defensive operations.

Several shinobi moved in and out of the office, each one a squad captain—every single one of them a Jōnin.

Though many of these Jōnin were unfamiliar to the public, each of them possessed elite-level strength.

They were the backbone of Konoha.

Altogether, more than a dozen Jōnin had assembled.

Of course, there were others stationed elsewhere across the village. Konoha had dozens of Jōnin in total.

This was the military foundation of a Great Shinobi Village.

Even Sunagakure, which on the surface had only Gaara as its sole Kage-level ninja, still boasted dozens of Jōnin.

That's why, despite being weakened, they remained one of the Five Great Nations.

A shinobi village required funding—military expenses that trained future generations of ninja. Because only through a sufficient number of Genin, Chūnin, and Jōnin could the strength of a village be truly sustained.

Until someone reached the level of Uchiha Madara or Hashirama Senju, the power gap between villages wouldn't be insurmountable.

Jōnin—those captains that Riku had just observed—typically didn't show themselves, but none of them were weak.

Becoming a Jōnin wasn't just about individual strength—it also required leadership. They had to be capable of leading squads or even larger units at a moment's notice.

Chūnin served as small-unit captains; Jōnin commanded medium to large-scale forces.

There was no question—these were Konoha's elite.

Despite having arranged for many of them to intercept the dead, Tsunade still felt uneasy.

"Is this what they're trying to do?" she muttered. "Massacre the people of multiple villages, just to turn them into weapons to attack Konoha?"

"Truly inhuman…"

Tsunade had received reports that the dead being summoned all originated from villages that had been wiped out.

To her, this tactic was nothing short of monstrous.

What disturbed her further was that these reanimated corpses didn't feel pain. Their combat strength was low—they shattered with a single hit and didn't revive—but they were eerily obedient, attacking Konoha without thought or hesitation.

Riku gave a small smile.

"Humanity isn't something everyone possesses."

If Riku stepped in, he could probably resolve the crisis in an instant—but he chose not to.

It wasn't because he was indifferent. Riku simply didn't want to become the type of person who intervened the moment something happened.

Tsunade, despite being a Kage-level powerhouse herself, rarely engaged directly in battle. Her role was leadership—remaining at her post to command and strategize.

Riku felt the same. His job now was to remain by her side and protect her—unless the threat to Konoha became truly catastrophic, he wouldn't take the field.

Tsunade never asked him to.

She felt that as long as Riku fulfilled his own responsibilities, that was enough. Forcing him to act personally would only push him away.

Tsunade wasn't just Konoha's Hokage—she was Riku's wife. To her, Riku and Konoha were almost equal in importance… perhaps Riku meant even more.

And at this moment, what she wanted was for him to stay by her side—to learn how a Hokage should handle a crisis.

After Tsunade finished issuing her orders, she stood beside Riku. As the battle raged and the sun set, darkness fell over the village.

Still, Riku made no move.

He believed Kakashi and the others were fully capable of resolving the situation on their own.

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